Miligold or Bluffon's?

[faislaq]

This past December we adopted a macaw named Buzzard. His owner told us he was a miligold.

Then I found the thread on here "Blue and Gold male ***ADOPTED***" and kept reading about how big Petey was and when they posted his weight at 1260g, my jaw dropped. I thought, "That must be a huge bird. I'm glad Buzz isn't that big or I'd probably be afraid of him." I tried to picture what a bird that big must look like in comparison to our guy.

I finally coaxed Buzzard back into his travel cage to take him to the vet (after 3 cancellations) for a nail trim an a checkup. Thankfully the vet said he was healthy, but I was stunned when he weighed him and said he was 1280g! I guess I shouldn't have been afraid of a bird that big; one has been snuggling with me and beaking my fingers this whole time. Hehe I was probably imagining Petey as a 4 lb giant!

Since then, I have been wondering: if Buzz is the size of a large BG and militarys are smaller (closer to 900g, I think?) and Buffons are the same size or a bit larger, might our boy be a Bluffons? I've tried reading what I could about the differences, but most of what I've found seems to come down to weight and colors. Being that he's a hybrid and I'm a macaw noob, it makes the plumage part very hard for me to determine, so I'm going mostly by weight.

These are the best I have so far to,show his colors:


This one is my best picture of his eyes. (I did read something about their eyes being different, but I feel I am not qualified to determine as I've not met a military or Buffons to compare.)


And this is a silly pic but I thought the spoon might help as a point of reference for his size? I was offering him a piece of strawberry before I took a bite & "Swiper" here took the whole spoon!


And thank you in advance to all of you more seasoned macaw lovers!

 

[Macawnutz]

Most likely a milligold. BG males can have some pretty good weight behind them if not flighted. My hybrids are 1350's. Camelot and Harli.

Cute baby! Why don't you post more often about him? Don't be so selfish.

 

[faislaq]

Wow, you're fast! And accurate. You even knew he doesn't fly! Though I wish he'd try or at least flap a little. I'm starting to think he's so used to being in that cage he doesn't know how. We prop his door open with a vet tape-wrapped stool to give him a place to perch and encourage him to come out of his cage at least. He gets nervous away from his cage so I cleaned up a large bayberry branch & secured it across the top and placed a few perches on the outside. Baby steps.

It's funny you said "selfish". When I read other peoples' posts, they almost always make me want to say something about him but I don't want to hijack their threads so I hush. Also, he's not a fan of my phone so non-blurry pictures are rare and I know pictures are *required* here.

 

[faislaq]

Here you can see his branch a little. Please ignore the banana I've smooshed into the giant cardboard tube.

 

[Chopper]

He is so handsome.
Yep, we need to hear more about him.

 

[faislaq]

Thank you! When he came to us, his owner said "His name is Buzz, or 'Buzzard' when he's in trouble." He doesn't speak often, but one day I gave him some juice (1/2 water, 1/2 juice) to reward him for climbing on top of his cage and as soon as he tasted it he busted out with a "Whoo-woo!"... couple of head bobs & eye pins ... "Pretty bird" ... more bobs & pins ... and then a very excited-sounding "Buzzard!" I almost dropped the cup! Since then we have started calling him Buzzard more and more, using Buzz or Buzzy-boy as nicknames. We figured if that's what he calls himself (when he was so clearly happy) then it must not be a bad word to him and we should follow suit.

 

[Tyrion]

Thank you! When he came to us, his owner said "His name is Buzz, or 'Buzzard' when he's in trouble." He doesn't speak often, but one day I gave him some juice (1/2 water, 1/2 juice) to reward him for climbing on top of his cage and as soon as he tasted it he busted out with a "Whoo-woo!"... couple of head bobs & eye pins ... "Pretty bird" ... more bobs & pins ... and then a very excited-sounding "Buzzard!" I almost dropped the cup! Since then we have started calling him Buzzard more and more, using Buzz or Buzzy-boy as nicknames. We figured if that's what he calls himself (when he was so clearly happy) then it must not be a bad word to him and we should follow suit.

That so funny ..its nice to hear the happiness in their voices

 

[Chopper]

I love listening to what the birds have to say. They are really funny. I'm glad that he has some happy times from his past.

 

[KimKim]

Very handsome, Miligolds are my second favorite macaw

 

[CrazyBirdChick]

Wow! He is amazing!

 

[cassiesdad]

Buzzard is so handsome!

 

[EllaMay]

Love the pic of him holding the spoon! Buzz is mighty good looking!

 

[Lwalker]

Buzzard is too handsome for you to stay quiet! More Buzzy-boy pics and stories in future please!

 

[Alan J.]

Buzzard is one handsome macaw.

 

[Macawnutz]

Hey, how's his personality? I'm sure he is more BG, silly comical playful.... does he have the military change your mind quick temper?

 

[faislaq]

No temper yet, though he's very clear when he's uncomfortable around something or someone new. I forgot to take off my sunglasses last week and got a well-deserved pinch! Poor baby was probably thinking a bug-eyed alien lady was coming to eat him.

But he is my sweet, cuddly baby boy. He offers his foot when he's ready to step up and then it's finger beaking, head-skritching time until he starts trying to give me "gurgies". Then I have him step back to his cage and give him a toy or treat.

Overall, he's a surprisingly quiet bird. His owner had said she was having to rehome him so she would be allowed to re-sign her lease because he was too loud. We're in an apartment and our neighbors don't even know we have birds. He has only done his melt-your-knees "death scream" maybe 5 or 6 times since he has come to live with us, but it lasts less than a second and we make a point to act normal and not acknowledge it so I think that helps. If he's not getting anything out of it, why bother? And we make sure we give him a treat or paper to shred when he calms down to reinforce that instead.